Home > Legendary skateboarder Tony Alva to make a stop at Rukus Skate Shop

Legendary skateboarder Tony Alva to make a stop at Rukus Skate Shop

By smorgan

Created 03/19/2013 - 3:00pm

POSTED: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - 3:00pm

UPDATED: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 - 3:15pm

BATON ROUGE, LA (NBC33) — An icon of skateboarding will kickflip his way into the Capital City tomorrow for a little BBQ and bonding at a local shop.

Legendary skater Tony Alva is making a stop at Rukus Board Shop on Wednesday, March 20 as part of the “Catch The Bus” tour.

“He’s one of the forefathers of skateboarding,” Ronnie Saurage, co-owner of Rukus Board Shop, said about Tony Alva. “He took skateboarding to a different level and made it what it is today.”

The tour started on March 9 and continues until March 20. It has stopped in a different city each day and is an annual tradition hosted by the Vans clothing company, which is one of Alva’s official sponsors.

“We have one of the biggest Vans accounts in Louisiana,” Saurage said about his shop. “We back their brand pretty well because it’s one of the best skate shoe brands. This tour is part of their way of giving back.”

Alva was born in Santa Monica, California and is known for his participation in the Venice Beach skate culture during the 1970s. A documentary called “Dogtown and Z-Boys” detailed his and the story of other influential figures from the same area during their rise to popularity and fame.

“I always tell kids to go rent the movie,” Saurage said when asked about how he explains Alva’s influence to younger generations.

Tomorrow, that new generation of skateboarders will have the chance to meet the man who helped draft the design for modern skate parks, such as the one here in Baton Rouge run by BREC.

“Louisiana was one of the last states in the country to get a skate park,” Saurage said when asked how the skate scene has change in Baton Rouge over recent years. “Skateboarding has gotten bigger and bigger over the last few decades. More and more kids are getting into it every day and some older people are getting back into it.”

Rukus Skate Shop is located at 5601 Jones Creek Road. Alva will be at the store between 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.